You know you're down-and-out when even venerable PBS productions are taking potshots at you. Such is the case with Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, which will be parodied mercilessly next season on Sesame Street. Those preschoolers will be in stitches.

Despite the comedy of errors that is Broadway's Spider-Man musical, ticket sales continue to soar. But will this next news snip Spidey's web once and for all? Rumor has it director Julie Taymor may step down.

More trouble for Julie Taymor's Spidey musical. Natalie Mendoza, who plays Arachne, and sings five numbers (including the title track), is leaving the production after suffering from a concussion last month. Will this inspire others to jump ship? [NY Times]

While the Spider-Man musical might have a $60 million dollar budget, a team of Cirque du Soleil performers and Bono, the Hulk musical (Hulk: Inside and Out) has a tub of green paint, purple spanks and better music. Advantage: Hulk.

The $65-million Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark is not unlike eating a caramel-covered, poisonous arachnid. It's a deranged spectacle that's sweet going down.

Annie Leibovitz used the cast of the new Spider-Man musical for a Vogue fashion shoot. Take a closer look at the $60 million musical. Fingers crossed for a Carnage solo where he writes on the walls with his own blood.

While it remains to be seen whether Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark will even open as planned next year, a spokesman for the show has confirmed that tickets will go on sale for the musical October 31st. [New York Times]

In a special sneak peek at the multi-million dollar Spider-Man musical, director Julie Taymor spilled details on sets, villains, and sky high web-slinging. Plus Bono and The Edge played a few tunes.

The Spider-Man Musical auditions are underway and still no word about who our singing Peter Parker will be until now. We've got wind of one casting rumor for our dear U2-warbling webslinger.

Musicals, mutants and the hidden secrets available to us all on Google Earth. Hey kids, what can I say... They're all disasters.